2005.12.01
Why I Don’t Care About Alito
…there’s no point getting my undies in a bunch and crying about it.
Tonight has been quite an evening listening to Jon E. and Mookee talk politics. One of the subjects brought up is the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. When Harriet Meiers was nominated I was very disappointed, but with Alito I just can’t be bothered. Those two nailed it on the head what I’ve been feeling.
I don’t have any way of affecting the outcome of this nomination or confirmation, so there’s no point getting my undies in a bunch and crying about it.
I don’t like Alito being nominated personally. I’m very concerned about the direction the Court could -and will- take when he’s confirmed. The thing is I have no input. Meiers was not qualified. She never had a chance. This has nothing to do with her views or the American public’s opinion of her. The President nominated her, but the Senate would never confirm her; she is an incompetent candidate.
Alito, however, is more than capable of holding the position. There is no effective reason not to confirm him excepting ethical or obvious criminal behavior on his part. The Constitution stipulates that the President nominates judges to fill vacancies on the Supreme Court, and that the Senate advises upon and confirms that nomination. That is the Law of the Land.
The only way for me, as a normal citizen who is not a Senator, to affect this process is to vote against Presidential nominations I think will potentially nominate bad candidates to the Supreme Court. I’ve written about this and even endorsed Kerry for President for this reason despite thinking he was not a good candidate.
But Kerry lost, no matter how anyone feels about Ohio, and now we have to deal with who Bush puts in the Courts seats.
There’s nothing I can do, so I refuse to stress about it. That’s all there is to it. Thanks again to my friends for making it clear to me why I am often the way I am.
Categorized: political thoughts
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One Response to “Why I Don’t Care About Alito”
- NHK says (December 1st, 2005 at 23:39:06 )
Pretty much, yeah
I agree that Alito is certainly not someone I wnt to see on the Supreme Court, but, as you say, there’s nothing I can do about it. As for the potential consequences of his appointment, well, as Mookee suggested the other day, one can always move to a different country…something that I won’t do now due to obligations/ties here, but will consider as a viable option a few years out if the U.S. continues on it’s current course.
As for wringing my hands daily over the Alito appointment (or any of GWBs other stupid decisions), I can’t be bothered.
